Captivated

A woman is kidnapped and taken out to a desert shack 200 miles from the nearest town as a part of an elaborate scheme to extract a ransom from her father

Chapter One

A man drove into the driveway of a home outside of Salt Lake City. The driveway was long, as the house stood back, hidden from the road. Another car was parked in front of the house. He pulled in next to it and got out. Looking around, he noticed just how small the house was. It had wooden siding painted tan. The red clay shingles stood out but didn’t hold his attention. Across the other side of the lot were several structures in a row. They appeared to be storefronts—even having signs above the doors. The center one had the words City Mission over it. He thought that was strange, especially since the buildings were only facades. Was this a movie set?

Beyond the fake buildings, he saw an airplane off to the side. From where he stood, he thought there might be a runway, but the structures blocked his view.

“Good morning, Bravo,” said a man coming out of the house. He was sporting a full beard that matched the one Bravo had.

“You know my name is—”

“Your name is Bravo. For the next month or so, your real name doesn’t exist.”

“So my name and my face is disguised.”

“Exactly. There will be two more men arriving soon. Charlie and Delta will also be wearing beards.”

“Let me guess. You’re Alpha.”

“Very good. You know call letters.”

“A few. Your letter said there was some sort of lucrative business deal. Am I to assume that city street mockup has something to do with it?”

“All your questions will be answered when the other two arrive. I only want to explain it once. Come inside. You must be hungry. There is chili on the stove.”

While they were eating, two vehicles arrived simultaneously. Alpha excused himself and rushed out to meet them. Minutes later, the three entered the small dining room.

“The rest of the bearded men’s convention,” Bravo said with a smirk.

Alpha proceeded with introductions to get all the necessary formalities out of the way.

“Are you going to explain why the beards and the alphabetical names?” asked Delta impatiently.

“Go out to the kitchen, grab a bowl of chili and sit down. I’ll make this all clear.”

The two went into the kitchen and returned moments later, taking their seats at the oval table.

“I take it this is a heist?” asked Charlie.

“What makes you say that?” asked Alpha.

“For starters, judging by the personnel here, I’d say we’ve all spent some time behind bars…except maybe pretty-boy over here.” Charlie glanced over at Bravo.

“Care to back that up?” Bravo asserted.

“Whoa.” Alpha intervened quickly. “We’re here to make money, not beat each other up. In answer to your question, this is a heist. However, it will be a heist of Katrina Westerfield, daughter of one William Westerfield, CEO of Clover Manufacturing.”

Charlie’s eyes grew wide. “A kidnapping?”

Bravo looked around the table. Charlie wasn’t the only one surprised, but it cleared up a nagging question. “That’s why the beards.”

Alpha nodded. “I saw this movie when I was a kid. A team of disguised men robbed a bank. They used numbers for names. I’m a pilot, so I prefer call letters. I also think a bank robbery is a bit risky.”

“What about the drop off?” asked Delta. “Someone has to pick up the money. I’d say that’s even more risky.”

“I have that worked out. It all takes precision timing.”

“The mockup,” Charlie mentioned.

“One of two. That one is the abduction stage. Once we have that one down, we’ll set up the next one.”

“How long are we gonna be here?” asked Bravo.

“It depends on how fast we all learn our parts. If I was to venture a guess, I’d say a month, but I hope to shave a week off that. However, I won’t skimp. Until there’s no mistakes, we don’t go.”

* * * *

Alpha pulled in front of the fake mission driving a beat up van. It was fairly dark, being about nine in the evening. There was a street light nearby. Alpha had set up the area as close to the real street as possible. “Excuse me, miss?” he called out to Bravo who had come out of the store.

Bravo walked over near the passenger window.

“Can you tell me where to get to the highway? I got turned around.”

Bravo got a little closer to the window and pointed to the imaginary street that turned left a block away from the mission.

Charlie and Delta appeared from behind the shrubs, Delta holding a fake knife to Bravo’s side.

“Get in or lose a kidney,” said Charlie as he opened the sliding door. Bravo got in followed by Delta. Charlie got in front. In no time, Alpha was moving, turning right at the end of the mock up street and then turned left immediately following. This ended the first scene of the play they were about to act out.

“How far down the street until we reach the garage?” asked Delta.

“Three blocks,” Alpha replied.

“Is that safe?”

“The sooner the van disappears, the safer we’ll be. Bravo will be there ready to move as soon as we’re in. You’re wearing gloves now and will continue to anytime we get into the van. That way we don’t have to wipe it down when we abandon it.”

“I think we have this part down,” said Charlie.

“I agree,” said Alpha. “Onto the next scene.”

The men tore down the set and constructed a scene with two buildings the same height and similar design separated by a vacant lot. Charlie and Delta placed a trash can in the center of the lot even with the front of the buildings. The can’s lid was welded on and the flap was spring loaded. There was a cable affixed on both sides in such a way that it wasn’t readily noticeable. They ran the cable to both buildings on either side of the can and covered it with dirt to hide it.

Dressed as cable repairmen, the two grabbed ladders off the truck they drove and each went up the buildings. They pounded spikes into the front corner of each structure near the top. Then they descended and returned with the cable, draping it over the spikes so that it ran across the lot above the trash can.

The two stood back to view the set they’d finished. “This is the drop off?” asked Charlie.

“Yes,” Alpha replied.

“It’s out in the open.”

“It has to be. There is a motel roughly where we’re standing. You’ll be in room two sixteen with binoculars watching the drop off.”

“And you?”

“Delta and I will be in my plane with a hook attached. When you give the word, I’ll swoop down and snag the wire. We’ll meet at this airfield, split up the money and I’ll deliver Bravo’s cut to a cabin about two hundred miles from here where we’ll let Miss Westerfield go…provided we have the cash, of course.”

“Where she runs to the nearest home and turns us all in,” said Bravo. Alpha could see the concern in his face.

“The cabin is two hundred miles away by air. The nearest town is also two hundred miles away down a winding fire road.”

“How is she supposed to get there?”

“There’s a vehicle at the cabin. Once we are ready to let her go, we’ll attach the sparkplug wires that I have in the plane.”

“So, I have no way to get out of there, either. What guarantee do I have that you won’t just leave us there to rot?”

“This is a simple…well maybe not simple…kidnapping. Once his daughter is safe in her father’s arms, the heat will start to drop. If she dies, he’ll turn up the heat and we’ll be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives.”

“What if they don’t pay?” asked Delta.

“I prefer not to think about that, but we will have to make good on our threat. If anyone wants to back out, now is the time.” Alpha looked around. The others stood firm. “We’re good then.”

* * * *

The four drove out to the pickup point. Passing the mission slowly in Bravo’s car, Alpha pointed out two specific bushes that stood in the shadows at night.

“Charlie, you and Delta will hide there. Bravo will stand down the street and light a cigarette if the coast is clear for grabbing her when she comes out of the mission.

“I don’t smoke.”

“Just light the cigarette. You don’t have to smoke it. It’s only a signal for me to pull up. Keep your eyes out for other pedestrians. If there are any that might finger us before we get away, don’t light the cigarette. We can put it off until the next week. Better to be perfectly safe than starting out at a disadvantage.

Bravo smiled. “Okay, where to now?”

“Make a right at the next street and then your first left.”

“There,” Alpha pointed to the entrance to a parking garage under a four story building.

“This is an apartment complex,” said Delta.

“You are correct. But if you notice, the cars are hidden from the street and it isn’t pay parking. I scoped it out. Apartment three twelve is vacant, so Bravo can park in its space without fear of being towed.”

The last place Alpha took the guys was the drop off on the outskirts of town.

“I see the two buildings with the lot in between,” said Charlie.

“Very good. You recognize them from the mock up.” Alpha smiled.

“We take the truck and bring two ladders,” said Delta.

“And the trash can,” Alpha added.

Bravo stopped across the street.

“See the trim at the top of the buildings?” Alpha pointed to the small decorative border both structures had just under the roof.

“Yes,” said Charlie. “We pound a spike in under the trim pointing toward the street. When do we do this?”

“The day after we pick her up. I don’t want to set it up so early that the trash can gets used as a trash can.”

“I don’t know about you all, but I think we’re ready,” said Delta.

“I agree,” Alpha answered. The other two nodded.

“What day are we planning on abducting her?” asked Bravo.

“This Friday,” Alpha replied. “Now, let’s go back.

* * * *

The next morning, the three members of Alpha’s caper stepped outside the house after hearing the plane start up. Alpha had moved it to the end of the runway facing the house. They started walking toward the plane, but Alpha waved them back. They went inside the house and awaited his return.

Breakfast had been partially prepared, and Alpha finished it, bringing a large stack of pancakes and plate of bacon into the dining room.

After they had eaten, Alpha glanced around the table and said, “Let’s run through it once more.” Looking at Bravo, he said, simply, “Bravo?”

“I drive the getaway car to the parking garage and park in spot three twelve. I get out and walk to the corner up from the mission to watch for Katrina. I light a cigarette if all clear and then immediately return to the garage.”

Alpha turned his eyes on Charlie.

“Me and Delta get out of the car with Bravo and head to our hiding places behind the bushes. We wait for you to pull up and distract Katrina. At which time we come out from hiding.”

“I put a knife to her back and tell her to get in the van,” said Delta. “I follow her into the van and gag her.”

“I assist in tying her up,” Charlie added.

“I drive us to the parking garage and we park the van to get into the car Bravo has running,” said Alpha.

“I drive us all back here,” Bravo finished.

“We’ve got it down. Now let’s go out to the plane.” Alpha led them out and down the runway to the plane. He opened the passenger side door and pulled the seat back down. Climbing in, he pulled the rear seat back down to expose the storage compartment. It had been converted for the purpose of this caper. There was an electric winch and a long rod with a hook on the end of it. “This is what I’ll snag the trash can cable with. As you can see, I modified the compartment. There are two clips at the top when released allows the crank on the wall to raise or lower the floor which is attached with spring loaded hinges. Delta, you will lower the floor and let out the hook. Once I grab the trash can, you winch it up to us and remove the money. Then you let loose the trash can and close the compartment.”

“Where will I be?” asked Charlie.

“You will be in room two thirty-two of the motel, kitty-corner from the lot with a walkie-talkie to let me know when the drop off has been made. Then you get out of there and make it back here as quick as you can.”

“Won’t they pick you up on radar?” asked Bravo.

“I can fly under it, hugging the hills. Oh, that’s another thing. Once the trash can has been dropped, I’ll duck down behind the nearest hill and Delta will open the windows so he can pull these cords taped above the windows. That will rip off the fake numbers on the side of the plane exposing the real numbers.”

They all smiled in unison.

“Everyone get in.” Alpha started the plane and took off.

Two hours later, they were circling a dirt runway with a cabin nearby. Alpha pointed to the brush alongside it. “Once I drop you and the girl off, Bravo, you need to move the brush and hide the runway.”

“This is really secluded,” said Charlie. “How did you get this all set up?”

“Several trips up the fire road. I have a friend in construction. He was able to give me a hand.”

“They sell land up a fire road?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t purchase it.”

They all laughed.

“There’s literally nothing between here and the town we came from,” said Bravo.

“She would be foolish to try to escape, wouldn’t you think?”

“How will I know when to clear off the runway?”

“I’ll leave you a cellphone, but I won’t give you the pass code, so she can’t steal it to call out. I’ll call you when I’m on my way in.” With that, Alpha turned the plane around and headed back.

After landing, Alpha held Delta behind to show him the intricacies of his equipment so that retrieval of the trash can would go smoothly.

Chapter Two

“Tomorrow’s the day,” said Alpha.

“What’s on the agenda for today?” asked Bravo.

“Charlie and you go into town. I need you to check out the parking space to make sure no one decided to take it.”

“It still could be taken, tomorrow.”

“True, but if it’s occupied, today, we’ll know we need to make adjustments. Tomorrow, we’ll have to react.”

“What am I doing in town?” asked Charlie.

Alpha handed him a fake driver’s license and enough cash to rent a motel room for five nights. “Rent room two thirty-two of the motel across from the drop off.”

“How am I supposed to get that exact room?”

“Tell them you stayed there a year ago and you liked the view. Rent it for five nights. That takes us to Tuesday, but we should be long gone by Monday evening. That way we don’t raise suspicion during the operation.”

“Operation, huh?” mentioned Delta. “I like the sound of that.”

“While you two are out, Delta and I will prep the plane and ensure our vehicles are gassed up.”

“It occurs to me,” Bravo spoke, “that…maybe it was because of the intricacy of this operation, but you never told us how much we are asking for.”

“Three point two five mil.”

“There’s four of us,” said Delta.

“Yes, but I’m stretching it at that. It will be hard enough for him to pull off that much on short notice. An extra million would be even more difficult.”

“You mean three quarters of a million.”

“No, it would be one million. We each get seven hundred and fifty thousand. I owe close to a quarter mil for the equipment and materials needed to pull this off. And besides, I did all the planning and preparation.”

“I can live with that,” said Charlie. The other two nodded.

“When you get back, we’ll all wipe down the entire house and vehicles.” Alpha pulled out three pieces of paper from his pocket and handed one to each man. “These are the addresses where you will park your cars. In case something goes wrong and one of us gets caught, the others aren’t compromised.”

“Thought of everything did ya?” said Bravo.

“I tried to. Now, let’s get to work.”

* * * *

The three men got out of the car. Parking space three twelve was vacant as it had been the day before. They split up, Bravo crossing the street immediately—Charlie and Delta quickly walking to the corner where the van would turn. Charlie crossed the street in the same direction they were going—Delta crossed the other street to follow behind Bravo. He crossed again before he reached the corner. Bravo crossed the street the mission was on so that he was kitty corner and had a good view of the door. The other two slipped into position quietly.

Alpha was parked a little over a hundred yards away on the far side of the mission. The wait wasn’t long. He had timed it precisely, and Katrina was following her predictable schedule to the minute. Bravo glanced around quickly, when he saw her exit the building. All clear, he lit the cigarette and waited for Alpha to pull out before dashing across the street, dropping the cigarette as he ran.

Alpha pulled up to Katrina and rolled the passenger window down. “Excuse me, miss. I’m lost. Can you tell me how to get back to the highway?”

She stepped over to the van just like it was Bravo practicing the scene. When she pointed down the street, Delta came up and touched the knife to her back. Charlie appeared in front of her.

“If you would be so kind as to get into the van, Katrina,” said Alpha. He saw the look of shock sweep across her face as he mentioned her name.

Delta used his free hand to open the sliding door and Charlie shoved her inside. In a flash, Alpha was at the corner turning right. When he entered the parking garage, Bravo moved the car out of the space so he could pull in. By this time, Delta had bound her arms and legs with duct tape along with a piece for her mouth.

Bravo opened the trunk, and the two men carried her kicking and attempting to scream over to drop her in. Bravo closed the trunk and the three joined Alpha, who was already in the car.

* * * *

The next morning, Alpha was flying Bravo and their captive to the cabin. As they neared it, Bravo looked back at Katrina. Her eyebrows rose allowing him to see the fear cross her face.

“We’re not going to harm you,” Alpha said. As long as your father comes up with the dough, you’ll be fine. But in case you haven’t been watching, there’s no place to run to out here.” He heard a small whimper through the duct tape.

Alpha circled the dirt runway and landed. They helped Katrina out and carried her to the cabin, placing her on the bed to the left of the door and shackling her leg to the metal frame.

“Come. I need help refueling the plane,” said Alpha.

They left the cabin and went over to the truck. In the bed were a dolly and a large drum with a pump affixed on top. A hose was connected to it. Pulling the drum off, Bravo wheeled it to the plane. Alpha opened the fueling port and connected the hose to it. Bravo started turning the crank and the fuel made its way up the hose to the wing.

“Here is the cellphone.” He handed it to Bravo. Don’t turn it on until noon on Monday. That will be the earliest you will hear from me, but don’t expect me to call until around two.”

“She doesn’t know I have this. Give me the code.”

“Think… She has to assume you have a way to communicate. She’s going to try and find it.” He could see the disappointment in Bravo. “Trust me. It’s the safest way…and here.” He pulled a knife in a sheath out of the plane and handed it to Bravo. Then he pulled the key to the cuff out of his pocket. He smiled. “You want to sleep at night, right?”

As they finished fueling the plane, Alpha extended his hand and shook Bravo’s. “See you Monday, money or no money.” He got in the plane and took off.

* * * *

Bravo walked back to the cabin. The structure was small and slapped together. Old boards of various widths and lengths made up outside walls. Some were painted while others were stained or bare wood. All of them were weathered. The roof was made up of corrugated metal panels and there was a pipe rising from it.

Inside, he took stock of his supplies. There were two beds on opposite sides of the single room. A cabinet was on the floor against the back wall right of center—on the left, a Franklin stove with a small stack of wood next to it. The pipe extending up from it was the pipe he’d seen from outside.

He opened the cabinet to find a pack of paper plates and a box of plastic ware along with various cans of prepared foods such as chili and ravioli. All cans had self-opening lids to his delight. On top of the cabinet was a single burner propane stove with a small tank attached. Above, hanging on the wall was a pot and a large metal spoon. The supplies they had would be enough to last three days.

He turned around and spotted a red five gallon gas can next to the door. It looked new. He went over and took the top off to smell inside. Water. If that was all they had, it would be cutting it close.

Then he noticed her. She was sitting on the bed—her arms behind her back—legs taped together. The legging was attached to her right leg and to the metal of the foot board. The length of chain might allow her to reach the door but not pass through it. Her naturally wavy blonde hair was well down below her shoulders—a little disheveled, but it still drew his eyes to her face. She had large, round, blue eyes, currently looking a bit nervous, but not scared. The thick strip of gray duct tape still covered her lips, so the rest of her face was difficult to see.

Even seated, there was a distinct hourglass figure. Her short, solid blue dress allowed him to take note of her slender, shaven legs. The V-neck of the dress revealed the crease in her ample but not overbearing breasts. The photograph he’d used to recognize her exiting the mission didn’t do her justice. The girl was gorgeous!

He walked over to her. She leaned back slightly—her expression changed to scared. It was evident she fully expected him to have his way with her. Wishing to dispel her concerns he said, “You know we’re in the middle of nowhere. Screaming won’t do you any good. There is no one for better than a hundred miles that would hear you. I’m going to remove the tape from your mouth, okay?”

She nodded in short, quick, up and down motions.

He reached out and grabbed a corner of the tape between his thumb and forefinger and tugged. It wasn’t about to move easily, so he yanked it off.

“Ahh!” she yelled.

“Didn’t you listen to me?”

“Yes, but that hurt.”

“Oh…right…sorry.”

She licked her lips and worked her mouth muscles. Then she asked, “Why are you doing this?”

Bravo smiled. “Isn’t it obvious? For the money.”

“It’s been a long trip. Are you going to let me relieve myself or do I have to go in my pants?”

It suddenly dawned on him that there was no facility in the cabin. “Let me see what our accommodations are. Be right back.” He assumed Alpha would have considered that, too, unless Alpha expected him to watch her. Walking outside, he looked left and right. There was nothing. But he saw the runway and remembered that he had to hide it.

He turned left and walked to the end of the cabin. There was the outhouse about fifty feet away from the back of the building. He returned to Katrina.

“I’m going to cut your tape. Try anything and I cut you. There is no first aid kit and we’re not leaving this place. Understood?”

“Yes.”

He bent down and cut the tape off her legs, then removed the cuff. Next, he cut away the tape from her wrists. As she brought her hands around to her front, he made sure she noticed he was still holding the knife.

“Okay, stand up.”

She followed his order and opened the door to the outside.

“Left,” he barked.

She turned and walked with Bravo right behind—knife exposed.

After taking care of business, they returned to the cabin, and Bravo attached her to the bed, the left leg this time, to allow her to lie down without the chain crossing over her legs. Then he went outside to attend to the runway.* * *

“Hello?” William Westerfield answered. After a few moments, he spoke again. “You really think I can scrape up that much cash before noon on Monday? Today’s Saturday and the banks closed two hours ago… Before I do anything, I want to speak to my daughter… If you even think…” William looked over at his wife. “He hung up.”

“What did he say?” she asked.

“He wants three and a quarter million by Monday noon.”

“Did you hear her?”

“No. He said he would send over a finger with one of her rings if we needed proof they had her.”

“Oh, Bill. What are we going to do?”

“I’ll call the bank president, Lillian. He’ll get working on it right away.”

“Not a good idea Mr. Westerfield,” said Lieutenant Harris. “The hope of money is the only thing keeping her alive. Once they get it, she’s as good as dead. They won’t allow anyone to live who can finger them.”

“What do you suggest I do, then?”

“We set up a fake bag and watch the drop site. We need only catch one of them.”

“We have no idea how many there are,” said Lillian Westerfield.

“Catch one and make a deal with him for the rest.”

Mr. Westerfield glanced at his wife. He could tell by her expression that she was torn by the idea. He was, too. He sighed. “Okay. What do we do?”

“Monday morning, I’ll meet you in the bank. We’ll set it up inside the safe just in case someone is watching the bank.”

“Then we return here to await instructions,” Mr. Westerfield added.

“Yes. Don’t expect anything to happen the rest of the weekend. We’ll keep a man here, anyway, but they have no reason to contact you until they think you have the money.”

Chapter Three

Bravo woke up on Sunday after a restless night. He sat up and looked over at Katrina. She was seated on the edge of her bed, shackle securely fastened to her ankle. She was staring at him.

“What?” he snapped.

“Good morning to you, too.”

He sighed. “Sorry. Good morning.” He rubbed his eyes while yawning. “Hungry?”

“Thirsty, and I could stand to use the bathroom.”

Bravo smiled. “Right.” He unfastened her restraint, pulling his knife out immediately following.

“You don’t need that. I’m not going anywhere. There’s no place to go.”

“That’s true,” he said, but he kept the knife out just the same. He walked her to the outhouse and went around the back of the outhouse instead of waiting to come back after refastening her leg to the bed.

When they returned to the cabin, she broke away from him and went over to the cabinet, much to Bravo’s dislike.

“Ravioli this morning?” she asked.

Stymied, he answered, “Sure.” He watched as she opened two cans and dumped them into the pot.

“Can you pour two glasses of water?”

He nodded and stepped over to the cabinet to grab two paper cups. He took them over to the can and carefully poured while she lit the burner.

She turned and leaned back against the cabinet. “If we’re going to be here alone until tomorrow, we might as well get to know each other. You know my name. What’s yours?”

“Bravo.”

“Seriously?” She grinned.

“It’s all you get. Consider it for your safety.”

“Oh, I get it. If you tell me your real name you’ll have to kill me.”

“Something like that.”

“I’m sorry, but you just don’t strike me as a murderer.”

“Yeah…well…you don’t know me.”

“She nodded once. Then tell me about yourself.”

“You know all you need to know!” he snapped again.

Katrina shut up and turned around to stir the ravioli. Bravo looked away, glancing out the window. He noticed the day was shaping up to be very warm. That was both a positive and a negative. He didn’t have to stoke the fire as he had last night, but there was no air conditioning in the cabin, either, and the badlands were well known for their large temperature swings.

“Okay,” she said suddenly. “I work at the mission to give back to the community. We’ve been blessed with a little luck. Of course, my dad worked very hard to get where he is now. Sometimes, he missed my birthday or we didn’t get a vacation like my friends got in the summer. But I knew—”

“Why do you think I care?” Bravo interrupted.

“I-I didn’t know whether you did or not. I tend to talk a lot when I’m nervous, and right now I’m a bit scared, okay?”

He frowned at the floor. Then he looked up at her and realized the stress of the situation. She had to be frightened and he knew he wasn’t helping matters. “I’m just the opposite. I tend to clam up.” He felt a bit uneasy, himself. They’d planned the entire operation down to every last conceivable detail. Still, he could think of several things that could go wrong, starting with her father’s decision about the money. On top of all that, he knew that if Alpha didn’t return, he had one hell of a long walk ahead and not enough water for one person, much less two to survive it.

“If it makes you feel better, continue.”

She poured the warmed ravioli into two plastic bowls, handing one to Bravo before walking back to her bed. She set the bowl down and started to refasten the shackle to her leg.

“Don’t,” Bravo said stopping her, shocked that she would take it upon herself to lock the shackles. “There really isn’t any way out of here other than on foot, and you would be in trouble in short order without water.”

“Aren’t you afraid I might try to steal the key to the truck while you sleep?”

He pulled the key out of his pocket and tossed it to her.

“I can go?”

“You can try. There’s no sparkplug wires.”

“And your phone?”

“I don’t have the code.”

“We really are on our own, aren’t we?”

“Yep.”

* * * *

 “What do you think, Lillian?” asked William.

“Do I think we should pay off the kidnappers?”

He looked directly at her. “I know what the police said. I’m just not as certain as they are.”

“They are the experts.”

“How do you become expert at kidnappings? All of them have to be different in some way.”

“They all have to have a plan on how they will pick up the money without getting caught.”

He nodded. “Exactly. So what if they have an original idea that might actually work?”

Lillian thought it over for a minute. She didn’t wish to take responsibility. After all, William had run the finances up to now. “I don’t know, Bill. Whatever you decide, I’ll stand by you.”

William paced the living room, head down in serious thought. Finally, he stopped and said, “We’ll do it their way, but I’m going to call Harry right now and have the cash in stand-by just in case.” He walked over to the phone and dialed.

The following morning, he was standing outside the bank when Harry arrived.

* * * *

“The phone rang precisely at noon. William answered on the second ring. “Hello.” His voice was subdued, and he expected the kidnapper to take charge. “Yes, I have the money. Let me speak… Okay, okay. Just don’t hurt her… I know where it is… Fifteen minutes. I’ll be there.” He hung up the phone.

“Where does he want you to go?” asked Lillian.

“There’s a phone booth at Marty’s Convenience Store on the corner of Fifth and Elm. I have only fifteen minutes to get there.”

The lieutenant hung up his phone. “He’ll give you a least one more destination, when he calls you there. He’s leading you to a phone he believes we aren’t monitoring.”

“How are you going to keep track?”

“You’re wearing the wire. Let us know the next destination when he tells you.”

“Okay. I better go.” Lillian kissed him before he left the house.

Reaching the phone in twelve minutes, he waited for the phone to ring. When it did, he picked up the receiver but said nothing. Hanging up the phone, he walked into the store. Once inside, he talked to the wire. “He wants me to buy a bag of chips and have the clerk place it in a grocery bag.”

“He’s going to have you transfer the money into the bag,” said the lieutenant. “Then where to?”

“Back out to the phone.” William followed the kidnapper’s instructions. When he received the second call, he pulled out his cellphone and tossed it into the trash can next to the payphone. Then he returned to his car.

As he transferred the money, he told the lieutenant what he had done as well as the next stop, which was another payphone. This one was outside a dollar store on Mayfair Drive. He took off and reached that phone in sixteen minutes.

“Only one minute. It takes time to move that much cash into another… Gleason Street? Yes, I know where it is… Trash can between two buildings in the center of a vacant lot. Got it.”

* * * *

Sergeant Saint James was in an unmarked car following Mr. Westerfield. He had also been listening in on the wire reports and knew the drop off site well, though he didn’t know about any trash can there. He passed Mr. Westerfield’s car and reached the destination ahead of William. Passing the drop off spot, he turned down a street and then made a U-turn so he could park at the corner and watch from there.

He looked around at the surrounding buildings to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. So far, all was normal. He saw the trash can. It didn’t fit. The kidnappers must have placed it there. He saw Mr. Westerfield show up two minutes later.

The sergeant watched him get out of the car and move toward the trash can. Something caught the corner of his eye—a movement. He glanced over at the motel and saw what it was. A man stood at the window of a second floor room. He had a pair of binoculars and was focused on Mr. Westerfield. The sergeant kept flashing over to the trash can and then back to the man. After the bag was left in the can and Mr. Westerfield on his way back to the car, the sergeant watched the man bring a walkie-talkie to his mouth and step away from the window. The curtain closed.

Mr. Westerfield drove away. Sergeant Saint James stayed behind. He kept the man in his mind, particularly the full beard. Then he heard a plane. He watched it swoop down and yank the trash can by the wire. Stunned for a moment admiring the feat he’d just witnessed, he managed to catch the last three numbers on the tail. Then he glanced at the motel room. Sure enough, the man had to watch the pick-up. The sergeant called in the numbers from the plane and then requested back-up at the motel.

Chapter Four

“Won’t be much longer before you’re be able to go home,” said Bravo.

“Where will you go?” Katrina asked.

“Um…I don’t know. I’ve been so focused on what’s happening that I never looked ahead.”

“Maybe it’s because you figured you’d get caught.”

“Hey! Don’t go trying to psychoanalyze me.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

He sighed. “I know. I’m a little sensitive that way I guess. I’ve always heard from those who had everything handed to them on a platter that life is what you make of it. Well, so far life hasn’t been much for me. Now that I have a record, no one will even give me a chance.”

Katrina raised her eyebrows gently and asked, “Please don’t take this wrong, but do you think getting paid to give me back is the chance you wanted?”

“The money will set me up so that I never have to worry where my next meal comes from or if I’ll have a roof over my head.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Is that all the money means to you?”

“What’s wrong with wanting those things?”

“Nothing. Nothing at all. I just figured…” her voice trailed off.

Bravo looked directly at her. “Just what did you figure?”

She swallowed. “Frankly, I assumed you’d live in the lap of luxury until the money ran out.”

He rolled his eyes. “Maybe that’s what the others will do, but I never want to do this again.”

She tilted her head. “Mind if I ask what you went to jail for?”

“Reckless driving.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah, well, it didn’t matter to the judge who happened to be friends of the judge whose house I ran into when I lost control of the vehicle.”

She laughed.

“You think it’s funny?” As she tried to stifle her amusement, he smiled. “I guess it is at that.”

Katrina worked through the laughter and then got serious. “I know you aren’t looking that far into your future, but you really can be who you want to be. Like I told you earlier, my father wasn’t always rich. He started out at the bottom. Sure, he had some lucky breaks, but he took charge of his life.”

“I don’t know if that’s possible for me.”

“It is, believe me. You just have to have faith.”

“I don’t believe in God.”

“Sorry to hear that, but it isn’t what I meant. You have to have faith in yourself.”

“Are you hungry?” Bravo changed the subject, uneasy at where the conversation had led.

He saw the disappointment in her eyes as she answered, “A little.”

* * * *

Sergeant Saint James stood by the entrance of the motel. Being in plain clothes, he was the best candidate to wait outside for the man in the beard to come out.

Two squad cars had arrived quietly and parked up the street from the motel entrance. They remained out of sight. It wasn’t long before Charlie came out. The sergeant walked up to him with his wallet out and flashed his badge. “Will you come with me, sir?”

“What’s this about?” Charlie asked.

“Kidnapping. You’re under arrest.”

Charlie laughed. “Do I look like I am holding someone?”

“No, you’re looking at twenty years if she lives.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The uniforms arrived behind Charlie. Sergeant Saint James continued, “If I were to venture a guess, I’d say this isn’t your first arrest, which might mean life, even if she does live. Now, if you work with us, I’ll certainly help you out.”

“I don’t know who you think I am, but—”

“Cut it! I saw you in the window. Officer’s, take him downtown.”

As they handcuffed him, he said defiantly, “You’re making a big mistake.”

“Won’t be my first,” the sergeant replied smiling.

As they drove off, the sergeant walked inside the motel and asked to speak with the manager. After discussing the case, the manager escorted him to the room where he had seen Charlie looking out the window. Out of protocol, the manager knocked before unlocking the door for the sergeant.

The bed was made, obviously haven’t been slept in. He looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He moved the curtain just as he had seen a few minutes earlier. This was definitely the room the man was in. He looked a little more closely at the room. It was as though nothing had ever been touched, which he suspected was the case.

There was a paper bag in the trash can of the bathroom. He lifted it out. The contents were pretty heavy. He grabbed a washcloth from the rack and opened it. The first thing he pulled out when he reached in was the binoculars—the second being the walkie-talkie. He placed them back in the bag and thanked the manager for his assistance as they left the room.

* * * *

Delta turned on the winch and the wire reeled in the cable carrying the trash can. When the hook was inside the plane, he secured the cable to remove the hook from the wire and then connect to the remaining cable loop that was attached to the trash can to bring it all the way to the trap door.

Once the can was close enough for him to reach in, he retrieved the bag and then released the can to allow it to fall back to Earth. He then closed the back of the plane.

“I’m gonna drop behind the hill up ahead,” said Alpha.

When the plane was out of sight, Delta yanked the number stickers off the tail of the plane exposing the real numbers. Alpha turned left and hugged the ground until he was far enough away from the drop off to be able to turn back to home base.

Delta looked at the clear plastic bag admiring the money. “Score!” he exclaimed, smiling ear-to-ear.

“Charlie ought to be back shortly after we arrive,” said Alpha. “We need to count out the cash and get out of there as quick as we can.” He lined up for the landing and dropped in, but when the wheels struck the ground, the left tire blew out, sending him down the runway fighting to maintain control of the plane. Veering off the runway slightly, he hit a large rock. It forced the nose down, causing the propeller to strike the ground and snap off. The plane came to an abrupt stop. Inside, the men were shaken but unhurt.

“Looks like I’ll have to take the SUV to pick up Bravo,” Alpha said before grabbing the sparkplug wires belonging to the vehicle at the cabin.

“Let’s get inside and count out the cash,” said Delta. “When Charlie gets here, we can all split.”

They entered the house and went straight to the dining room table, where there were bags staged for each member’s share.

Delta opened the plastic bag and dumped it out in the center. Alpha took one look at the stacks and alarm came to his face.

“Ten dollar bills?” Alpha grabbed a stack and flipped through it. Green paper was cut to the size of bills. Only the outside ones were real.

“No!” Delta screamed. He checked a stack and then another.

Alpha picked up his phone. Dialing up the Westerfield’s, he shouted, “You just lost a daughter!” He hung up without letting them say anything. His next call was to the phone in Bravo’s possession.

* * * *

“I have to say, I’m impressed how you help the men out in the shelter,” said Bravo.

“It’s not just men,” Katrina added. “There are women and often children.”

“Oh. Either way, you’re still giving back to your community.”

“Thank you, but it’s not so much that. I know how hard it can be to lift yourself up after hitting rock bottom. I try to offer a ray of hope to those who feel hopeless.”

“I wish I would have met you sooner.”

She looked him dead in the eye. “You haven’t hit bottom, yet.”

“It certainly feels like it at times.”

“Try seeing it from this perspective. If you think you’re going to fail, you will.”

“That’s so cliché,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Sure it is, but it’s the absolute truth. Life is what you make it. It doesn’t make you.”

“I like that one. I’ll have to remember it when we get out of here.” The phone rang. “Speaking of getting out of here.” He answered the phone. “Hey, tell me the good news… Oh no. Can it be fixed? We’re… I see. Then we’ll see you in about four…” He dropped his shoulders. “Okay.” He hung up.

“It didn’t go quite right?”

“The plane crashed on landing, so it’s out of commission. And…Charlie hasn’t reported in. He might have got caught. Anyway, Alpha and Delta are driving up to get me.”

“Then it’s over,” she stated.

“Yes, it’s over.” He sighed.

She started shaking. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

Bravo saw the fear in her. He stood up and looked around. Spotting the gas can, he walked over and picked it up. He opened the top and carried it over to Katrina. “Here, drink as much as you can.”

“I’m not thirs—”

“Drink!” He looked at her sternly.

She took the container and put the opening to her lips. She took three good gulps and pulled the can away. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“I’m taking charge of my life. Now drink.”

“Why should I?”

“Because you need to be hydrated, and we need to make the can lighter.”

“Dad didn’t pay, did he?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think he would. So they’re coming up to kill me?”

“I’m supposed to kill you.” He saw the terror form in her face. “Come on, drink. We need to get going.”

“Why? So you can hide my body?”

“Now why would I have you hydrate yourself? Look. I’ve already cost myself twenty years for kidnapping you. I’m not going to make it life.”

“You knew you were going to get caught all along, didn’t you?”

“No, I thought I was going to make it. But now that I have to get you home, I can guarantee I will be caught.”

She guzzled down as much water as she could, handing the can to Bravo who did the same.

There were only two cans of food left, both chili. Bravo grabbed them and a couple forks. He also put the lighter in his pocket. The knife was already sheathed and on his belt.

“Glad you didn’t wear heels,” he mentioned.

“I wish I would have worn a sweater, though.”

“We’ll be okay. Let’s get going.” He led her out to the runway. “Here, take this.” He handed her the gas can which was still one quarter full. Taking a branch from the runway camouflage, he brushed away their footprints as they headed along the side. About halfway down, he pointed to a rocky hill to the left. Katrina started up the hill, while Bravo cleared the last of the footprints and continued another thirty feet beyond before returning. He then tossed the branch away. When he caught up to Katrina, he took the can from her, and they climbed to the top.

Upon reaching the summit, they both looked out over the pinkish-brown landscape. The trip was going to be a rough one. There was little vegetation and the sun was beating down on them.

Bravo looked down on the runway. He’d hidden it well. “This way.” He started down the hill they were on in a direction parallel to the runway, remembering that they came straight up to the runway from the other house.

“We’re not going to make it, are we?” she said, gazing at the daunting route ahead.

He smiled at her. “Where’s your faith?” He could tell that seemed to calm her spirit down. He saw her lips curl up slightly.

Chapter Five

“You’re looking at twenty years, Bert. And that’s only if they don’t take into consideration your past history,” said Sergeant Saint James.

Bert Lawson silently sat in the interrogation room. The sergeant sat across from him.

“Don’t be stupid. You know we’ve got you dead to rights. Your fingerprints are all over the binoculars which I witnessed you using to watch the trash can lifted into the air. Tell me how you knew to be watching.”

“I wasn’t using the binoculars to watch any trash can. It’s your word against mine.”

“Let’s look at the facts. I found a pair of binoculars and a walkie-talkie in the room tossed in the trash can. This was right after you left the motel. I saw you using the binoculars in the window at the exact moment the trash can was snagged. I also saw them when you watched the bag dropped into the trash can and immediately after that you were on the radio.”

“There is nothing there to tie me into anything.”

“Then why did you check into the motel under the name of Phillip Tournevous? Did you know that tournevous is French for screwdriver?”

Bert laughed loudly. “You gotta admit, that’s a good one.”

“Yes, it is. But combine that with the binoculars and walkie-talkie, who do you think the judge will believe?”

Bert was silent again.

“The drop wasn’t cash.”

“What?”

“Well, there was some cash…about two hundred in ten dollar bills. That means your partners didn’t get what they expected.”

“And you call me stupid?”

Then I can assume they won’t let her live. That means you might have to stand trial in connection with first degree murder. Unless, of course, we get to her first.”

Bert sighed. “What are you offering?”

“I’ll guarantee no connection to a murder if it comes down to that. I’ll also put in a good word with the district attorney. With any luck, I should be able to get you out in five years.”

“You seem pretty confident.”

The sergeant smiled. “I’m good at what I do. So, are you going to help us?”

“What do you want to know?”

“The names of everyone involved, for starters.”

“Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta.”

Sergeant Saint James frowned and stood. “I don’t have time for this. I can see you’re not going to be serious.”

“I am serious. I was Charlie.”

“Okay. Who was in charge?”

“Alpha.”

“Naturally.”

“We were not allowed to use our real names for this very reason.”

The sergeant sat down. “What do you know?”

“About the other three, not much.”

“You’re going to have to give me something, if you think I’m going to help you.”

“I can take you to where our base of operation was. I’m not sure what you’ll get from there, though. The entire place was wiped clean of any fingerprints.”

“It’s a good place to start. Let’s go.”

* * * *

“Bravo,” Alpha called.

Delta stepped into the cabin. A few seconds later, he came out. “They’re not inside.”

“Where the hell could he have gone?”

Delta pointed at the ground. “There’s two sets of footprints leading to the runway.”

“Maybe he’s out there burying the body.”

Delta shook his head. “The boy didn’t have it in him.”

Alpha looked at Delta and dropped his shoulders. “You’re right. I never should have called him. Now, they both have to die.”

The two men followed the tracks until they disappeared at the start of the runway. “Interesting,” said Alpha. “Bravo wiped out the tracks. He’s assuming I would kill her if he didn’t.”

“That’s a pretty good assumption.”

Alpha looked up at the setting sun. “It’s too late to go after them, tonight. Let’s run into town and pick up supplies. We’ll spend the night in the cabin.”

“You go,” said Delta. “I’ll find out which way they went.”

“Okay.” Alpha walked over to the SUV and grabbed the sparkplug wires. After hooking them up to the truck, he took off.

* * * *

Delta walked along the side of the runway, keeping his eyes on the brush strokes made by the branch. Following them slowly, he noticed that Bravo tried to scrub a wide enough area to make it look like it was never touched. “Bravo, dude,” he said out loud and then chuckled at the inside joke.

Continuing along the edge, he came upon the end of the brush strokes. Looking around, he tried to determine where they could have gone. Bravo knew which way we got here. Why would he get off the runway when he knows he has to go straight? He expects us to carry out what he couldn’t.

Delta looked back about thirty feet to a rocky hill. He smiled. “Good choice,” he murmured. He reached the summit of the rocks pretty quickly and scanned the distance. The two targets couldn’t be seen. He knew they had a four hour head start. But when he looked at the dirt below him, he noticed a couple tracks leading down parallel to the runway. “Gotcha,” he said and turned to go back to the cabin. For added insurance, when he returned to the runway, he drew a large arrow in the dirt, pointing the way.

* * * *

Bravo led Katrina down a steep rock, carefully having her shift her weight between legs as she gained solid footholds. Fortunately, the rock was only fifteen feet to the bottom. Upon reaching it, they found a couple pieces of dead wood that had dried out completely.

He spotted an overhang nearby. “It’s going to be dark soon. We have a little wood to help keep us warm tonight. It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain. I’d say this is a good place to bed down for the night.”

“If it rains, we have the rock over there to protect us,” Katrina added.

“If it rains, we’ll have to move. See the wood? It was dropped here by a flash flood. Technically, it could rain twenty miles away and fill up this canyon. We wouldn’t even see it coming.”

“Maybe we should move?”

“I think we’re safe for tonight. The sky is totally clear. I shouldn’t have told you about the flooding. Let me do the worrying.”

“I’d rather know the score. I didn’t ask you to lead me here.”

“No, you didn’t, but if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be here at all.”

“You’re right. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead.”

Bravo looked at her, his expression twisted in confusion.

“Think about it,” she continued. “If you weren’t at the cabin, someone else would be.”

“I guess so,” he replied.

“It wasn’t you who set up this little caper, was it, Bravo?”

“No, it wasn’t, and it’s Sandy.”

“What?”

“My name… My name is Sandy.”

“Oh.” She paused for a moment and then looked at him seriously. “Now, you’re gonna have to kill me?”

He stared sharply at her. Then he caught that little twinkle in her eye. “Pffft.” He smiled wryly.

She returned the smile. “I like it, though I think it will go better with a shaved face.”

“As soon as I get back to civilization, the beard comes off. I need to be a little more presentable in court.”

“Let’s not think that far ahead, okay?”

Sandy smiled. “We’ll concentrate on getting out of here.”

“Much better.”

He set up the fireplace next to the overhang in hopes of capturing the heat when the air temperature started dropping.

* * * *

“He was right, Sarg. There aren’t any fingerprints in the house at all. They had ample time to wipe it,” said Officer Clark.

Sergeant Saint James added, “They took all their gloves with them, too. Maybe we’ll have more luck on the plane.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” said Bert. “We weren’t allowed to touch the plane without gloves.”

“Is there anything you can think of that you haven’t told us?”

“Nothing of any use.”

“Let us determine that.”

“We got in contact with the owner of the plane,” said Officer Smith.

“What did he say?” asked the sergeant.

“He said he had rented it to a Thomas Pouce almost a month ago, but the guy never returned the plane. He was about to list it as stolen.”

Sergeant Saint James shook his head. “This guy’s a real joker.”

“What’s the joke, Sarg?” asked the officer.

“The name. Pouce is French for thumb.”

“Tom Thumb,” said Bert smiling. “Interesting. He never acted like he had a funny bone.”

“You spent your time in Tarrent State Pen, is that right?”

“Yes, why?”

“Alpha must have known you from somewhere.”

“I don’t recall ever seeing him there…or anywhere for that matter.”

“Come on, Bert. Think. The more you help me, the more I help you.”

Bert looked away for a minute. When he looked back, the sergeant could tell he had an idea.

“You got something?” asked the sergeant.

“Well, I know what the cabin looks like and I have a general idea where it is, but the runway is likely to be hidden and covered in brush…or maybe not. I don’t know if Bravo got word about the plane. Alpha was supposed to fly up and get him.”

“And the girl? Was she going to die either way?”

“No. The way Alpha put it to us is that if we got paid and she was returned safely, Mr. Westerfield would probably not care about the money.”

“Then how was she supposed to get back?”

“There’s a truck next to the cabin. Alpha had the sparkplugs in the plane, so it couldn’t be driven away.”

The sergeant called to the men searching the plane. “Any sparkplug wires in there?”

“No, Sarg,” Officer Smith answered.

“Looks like they might have taken them along. That maybe a good sign.” He looked dead in Bert’s eyes. “In your opinion, what do you think Katrina’s chances of being found alive are?”

“Honestly?”

“Absolutely.”

“If Alpha doesn’t tell Bravo to kill her over the phone, she’s history. It he tells Bravo to kill her, her chances are fifty-fifty.”

“Meaning?”

“Bravo won’t be able to do it. Whether he tries to save her remains to be seen. If he does, my hat’s off to him. There are very little in the line of supplies and roughly two hundred miles to travel before reaching anything, and that’s if he picks the right direction to go.”

Sergeant Saint James looked at his watch. “It’s too late to get started for the cabin. We’ll have to go in the morning. I hope you’re right about Bravo.”

“If I’m wrong, she’s already dead. But if I’m right, leaving early in the morning won’t make any difference.”

Chapter Six

Alpha awoke as the light barely started to creep up over the rocky hills. I didn’t expect to be rock climbing when I chose this place. He sat up in the bed Bravo had been using.

“Delta.”

“I’m awake. This mattress sucks!”

“What do you expect from a thrift store?”

“Not to have slept on it.”

“I hear ya.” Alpha put together some semblance of a smile. “I’m gonna make some coffee.”

“Sounds good.” Delta stood and left the cabin to relieve himself.

In no time, Alpha had the water steaming and poured into the instant coffee grounds he had placed in two paper cups.

Delta returned and took one of them. “Thanks,” he said.

The two gathered their gear, strapping knives to their waists.

“Still think we should have bought a gun,” said Delta.

“Don’t need anything traceable to us,” Alpha replied.

“It’s light enough to get going. I marked the place they turned off in the dirt.”

“Good. You saved us some time. My turn at the facilities, then we go.” Alpha went to the outhouse carrying his equipment and closed the door. While inside, he pulled a pistol from his backpack and checked the clip. There were ten rounds in the fifteen round clip. Satisfied, he slammed it back into the handle and placed it back inside the pack.

Alpha spotted the arrow in the dirt halfway down the runway and turned to go up the hill. Delta was right behind him. When they reached the top, Delta pointed out the direction the two went. “Bravo knew that he had to go the same way the runway was pointed.”

“The trick is whether he can maintain that path without a compass,” Alpha commented.

“We have a compass, but you’re saying it may not do us any good?”

Alpha smiled. It may not help us find them, but it will help us get out of here. Let’s stick with the southwesterly direction and keep a lookout for their tracks.”

* * * *

“What a night,” said Katrina. “Thank goodness for the fire.”

“You got that right,” Sandy agreed.

“Shall I open the cans of chili?” Katrina asked.

“I think we’d better be moving. I have a feeling my ex-partners are on their way looking for us.”

“Why do you say that? I mean, I know we left the cabin to avoid them, but do you really think they would come looking for us?”

“I do. Alpha put so much effort into planning and preparing your abduction, that when your father didn’t pay, He wanted to make an example of you. He told us he owed a lot of money for the materials he used to make his operation a reality. I’m sure he is fuming. I’d also be willing to bet that I’m on his hit list about now.

“Why do you say that?”

“He didn’t count on me to disobey his order.”

“I wondered about that. Why did he tell you to kill me over the phone?”

“I haven’t figured that one out, either. Maybe he really thought I would do it and save him the trouble.”

“Not to mention the murder charge.” Katrina smiled.

“The chance at a death sentence, anyway.”

“Maybe he figured you were going to have your way with me and would then need to make sure I didn’t get out alive.”

“No. He wouldn’t have thought that. We had every intention of letting you go.”

“Or so you thought.”

“I still do. This wasn’t in his plans.”

So, as far as his perfect kidnapping goes, he seems to have made the perfect mistake.”

“And that would be?”

“You.”

Sandy grinned. “Let’s get out of here. If we don’t make it back, today, I want to at least put some distance between us and them. We can eat, tonight, if we’re still out here, which is likely.”

“Our water is getting low,” Katrina mentioned.

“I know. We need to keep our eyes out.”

* * * *

“How much further?” Sergeant Saint James asked.

“It took us roughly two hours to reach the cabin from the house. But that was with us knowing where we were going,” Bert answered.

“We’ve been pretty close to two hours, now.”

“Yes, but I have no idea what the difference in speed between the plane and the helicopter is.”

“Mike, start zigzagging in twenty mile increments.”

“Okay, but I only have about three hours’ worth of fuel at this speed.”

“Understood. The sergeant turned his attention back to Bert. “Do you have any recollection of landmarks along the way?”

“No, I don’t. I never expected to come back out here.”

“Sergeant,” called the officer in the copilot seat, “base is calling you.”

He turned on the radio to his headset. “Saint James.” There was a long pause while he listened to the other end. “Interesting. How about the other… Okay. It has to be the link. He shut the set off and returned his attention to Bert. “Seems Alpha was a tad overconfident. We ran a check on the penitentiary files and came up with a pretty solid match. Mort Saskell spent ten years there for armed robbery. He was in A-block when you were there.”

“I was in C-block.”

“Yes, but you were there at the same time. He worked in the office, meaning he had plausible access to the inmate files. He would have known when you were to get out, which was close to when he got out out. And get this. He has a high IQ, holds a private pilot’s license, and he speaks two languages fluently. Any idea what the second one is?”

Bert grinned. “French.”

“You got it.”

“Bravo and Delta?”

“Not yet, but my guess is they got out about the same time, too.”

Bert looked at the sergeant thoughtfully. “It might be a bit coincidental, but you might have them look for Bravo in B-block and—”

“And Delta in D-block.” The sergeant smiled wryly. “You just might have taken another year off your sentence.” Alpha, or Mort, was doing things that at first glance looked hidden, but became obvious in hindsight. Sergeant Saint James was starting to recognize this.

As they made a turn and started on the zag part of the pattern, the sergeant asked again, “Are you sure there are no markers you can remember?”

“No,” Bert answered. This landscape is all the same color and nothing but rock. Everything looks the same to… Wait a second. That rock over there. I recognize it. I remember thinking that it looked just like one of those statues on Easter Island.”

“I can see that. What side of the plane was it on?”

“It was on the right side.”

“Turn left at the rock, Mike.”

The pilot turned and they went straight from there.

Chapter Seven

“That idiot,” said Delta.

“What makes you say that?” asked Alpha.

“He wipes away all the tracks at the cabin, yet he does nothing to conceal where they’re going.”

“True, but that would cost him time and he must believe we’re following. Still, I’m pretty sure we’ll catch up to them tomorrow. Look,” Alpha said semi-excitedly, pointing down into a ravine below.

“That’s fresh,” Delta replied. “Must be where they stopped.”

“Even the coals are still smoldering,” Alpha added when he reached the spot they spent the night.

Delta walked around the camp. “Over here is where they continued.” He indicated a slight change to the couple’s course.

“I’d say they went that way only to get out of this canyon. Watch for the footprints to return to the same direction once we reach the top of that rock.”

Delta quickly climbed and looked around. “Yeah, you’re right. The tracks go off in the same direction they headed yesterday.”

Alpha took a drink from his canteen. “Let’s get moving. I want to catch up by morning.”

* * * *

“How far were you from the cabin when you saw that rock?” asked the sergeant.

“I don’t remember. It wasn’t all that important to me at the time,” Bert replied.

“I can only head out this way for another fifteen minutes before I have to return for fuel,” said the pilot.

“Understood. Just go as long as you—”

“There it is!” Bert exclaimed.

Sergeant Saint James looked down below. The runway was obstructed as Bert had predicted. “Can you land near the cabin?”

“Think it’s safe?”

“I’m not sure, but we’ll have to chance it.”

“You got it.”

The sergeant took out his cuffs and attached one of Bert’s wrists to the handle next to the door as the helicopter gyrated down to the ground. Sergeant Saint James and the copilot drew their weapons upon landing. Making a dash for the cabin door, they crouched on both sides of it. The sergeant knocked with the butt of his pistol. “Police. Come out with your hands up.”

He waited about ten seconds and flung the door open, pointing his weapon inside from beside the opening. The other officer peered around. “No one here.”

A quick search of the interior revealed no sign of any altercation, nor was there any blood. The leg cuff was still attached to the frame of the bed. “This is the right place. Can’t tell the story from in here, though. Have Mike call forensics and get them up here.”

“Where do you think they went?”

The sergeant shrugged his shoulders. The officer walked over to the helicopter, while the sergeant inspected the ground around the cabin.

When the officer returned, the sergeant stopped searching for the moment. “I don’t see any tire tracks other than the two vehicles here.”

“Bert told me that was the truck parked next to the cabin when he came here.”

The sergeant looked over at the truck. “The sparkplug wires must have been installed.” He noticed the ground near the truck. “I see three, no four sets of footprints.”

“Looks like more than that to me,” the officer commented.

“See those over there? They are the same as these. Someone went off that way and came back.”

“You’re right.”

The two officers followed the tracks. When they reached the beginning of the runway, the sergeant stopped. “This is interesting. There’s only two sets of foot prints, now…and the same two sets coming and going.”

“Looks like the ground was brushed, sergeant.”

Sergeant Saint James bent over and touched one set of prints. “These are Katrina’s shoes. They are one of the two sets wiped out. Looks as though Bravo expected Mort to come after them. It also means that he called ahead and told Bravo to kill her.”

“He couldn’t do it,” said the officer.

“It looks as though Mort still intends to carry it out himself. Let’s trace the steps and see where they lead.”

The two men followed the tracks left by the two men in pursuit of Katrina and Bravo. They weren’t hidden, so following them was easy. When the footprints turned off the runway, the sergeant continued along the runway. The other officer stopped.

“They turned here.” He pointed out the tracks leading to the rock.

“I know. The ground was still brushed, but it stops here. He tried to mask where they left the runway, but he failed.”

The men climbed to the top of the rock. “There,” said the officer. He pointed down the hill.

“They’re heading in the right direction, but they have a very long way to go. Let’s get back to the chopper. It’s too late in the day to get a search party out. The sergeant started back down the hill.

* * * *

“Here,” said Sandy. “Finish it off.” He handed the can to Katrina.

She drank the last couple cups worth. Sandy took the empty can from her and flung it as far as he could.

“Going to be tough to eat the chili without something to wash it down with.” Katrina grinned.

Sandy laughed. “You’re right. Oh well.” They continued on.

“I was wondering…” said Katrina.

“Yes?” Sandy glanced at her for a split second, but returned to concentrating on the landscape.

“Why didn’t you try anything with me?”

Sandy’s eyes rose. “Do you think I’m that way?” His voice came off hurt.

“No, no…sorry. It’s just—”

“That I had you to myself with no way for you to stop me?”

“Frankly, yes.”

He sighed. “Like I said, we were going to let you go. I wouldn’t have been able to had I…” His voice trailed off.

“Raped me?”

Sandy didn’t answer. He kept moving forward.

“I never should have asked.”

Sandy looked over to her and could easily tell she was distressed over bringing it up. “Forget it. It’s not important.”

“No. It was stupid and insensitive. You’ve been doing everything you can to keep me safe, and I have the nerve to ask something that is truly out of your character.”

“Don’t beat yourself up too much. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“We’ve gone over that. It’s not—”

“I know what you said,” he interrupted, “and I appreciate it. But honestly, I wouldn’t have done anything with you even if we weren’t in this situation.”

“I’m not good enough?”

Sandy was taken aback. He stopped and turned toward her. “You’re kidding, right?” He saw it in her eyes. She was dead serious. He looked away. “If you really must know, I…” He fumbled in his head for the words he was looking for.

“Please?” she asked softly.

He turned back toward her. “I look at you…all prim and proper. I know that you’re way out of my league.” Turning away again, he added, “I could never have someone even close to you.”

She was silent. Sandy kept his eyes forward, not wanting to see her expression. They walked without saying a word for half an hour.

Sandy suddenly broke away, running ahead. He reached a shack made of several weathered boards and a tin roof. There was a makeshift fireplace out in front and a plastic bucket set on top of a rock next to the shack.

He stuck his head inside when he got there. It was readily apparent this had been abandoned long ago. There was evidence of coyotes having used it as a place to sleep. The mattress on the floor was all but destroyed, the door lying on the end of the bed having fallen off its hinges.

Katrina arrived and looked around. “How was this stuff brought here?”

“Beats me.” Sandy climbed up the highest rock nearby and scanned the horizon. Jumping back down, he said, “Nothing out there but miles and miles of miles and miles.”

Katrina looked in the bucket. “This is a quarter full of water.”

Sandy came over and smelled it. There was no odor. He poured a tiny bit out. It was clear. “Looks clean, but I don’t think we should drink it without boiling it, first.”

“There’s nothing here to boil it in.”

“We’ll use the chili cans.” He glanced at the sky and saw that the sun was about to hide behind the rocks. “I say we spend the night here and get an early start.”

She nodded in agreement.

Sandy grabbed the door and broke a few boards off it. He split one of the more dry rotted into splinters as small as he could get them by smashing it against a rock. He then took the cans and tore the covers off. Making a fire bundle, he lit it and added more wood as the fire grew large enough to handle it. Once he felt confident it would stay lit, he went into the shack and grabbed a spring from the mattress. Placing rocks with flat surfaces on either side of the flames, he set the spring on them to straddle the fire.

Katrina opened the cans and placed them carefully on the spring. “Whether or not you like chili, this is going to go down soooooo easy.”

“Yeah, I’m starved, too.” As the sun waned, Sandy rolled two large rocks over, making sure they ended up on the side of the fire opposite the direction of the smoke.

Katrina took the rock on the left and watched the fire for a minute. In the soft firelight, she turned toward Sandy.

Sandy stared back at her, saying nothing, but trying to understand what her eyes were trying to convey. Not ready for what happened next, his eyes doubled in size when she touched her lips to his. After two seconds, she backed off, but her face remained inches from his. He was able to read her, this time. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her lips back into his. They kissed passionately until the fire sizzled from the chili boiling over into it. Returning to reality, they pulled the cans from the fire.

As they ate, Sandy asked, “Why did you do that?”

“Because I wanted you to know that no one, especially me, should be out of your league. And…I needed to know if your heart was as soft as I imagined.

Sandy smiled. “Did I pass?”

“With flying colors.”

Chapter Eight

The police helicopters were out at the crack of dawn. Two of them started crisscrossing the barren landscape, starting at the cabin and fanning out from there. Determined to see this through to the end, Sergeant Saint James took the copilot seat of one chopper.

“There’s an awful lot of nothing down there,” said Mike, the pilot.

“At least there’s no trees to block our view,” the sergeant replied.

“But plenty of rocks.”

“True, but I don’t expect Katrina to hide from us.”

“So you think she’s still alive.”

“From what Bert said, I’m sure of it. Besides, why else would Bravo hide their footprints back at the cabin?”

“Good point.”

“Base to search one,” came across the headsets.

The sergeant picked up the microphone. “Search one, over.”

“Sergeant, we have a positive ID on the other two men. Bert confirmed them, over.”

“Good. Who’s Delta? Over.”

“Sam Kuchner, over.”

The sergeant grimaced. He turned to the pilot. “We have to find her, today, or we won’t find her alive.”

“You know him?”

“I was the one who caught him seven years ago. He laid out three officers before I was able to zap him, and that only stunned him long enough for us to pin him down.”

“Sir?” the voice returned over the radio.

He squeezed the button. “Who’s Bravo?”

“Sandy Mason, over.”

“What was he in for? Over.”

“Reckless driving…did six months, over.”

“Thank you, out.”

“Guess he graduated to the big time,” said Mike.

“Doesn’t make sense. How do you get six months for reckless driving?”

“Maybe there’s something more to it.”

“Must be, and whatever it was, it left a real bad taste in his mouth.” The sergeant returned to searching the ground below.

* * * *

“I wish we’d kept the can, now,” said Katrina.

“It would have slowed us down. We would have had to take too much time to purify the rest of the water,” Sandy replied.

The two were on their way as soon as were able to see the landscape in front of them

“There’s a large hill off to the left. I’m going to see if I can spot anything from up there. Wait here.” Sandy took off and started up the hill.

At the top, he made a sweep of the horizon. Any optimism he had was dashed. Disappointed that they still had a long way to go, he turned to go back down. He glanced back at where they’d come from to get some sort of idea how far they’d travelled. He couldn’t tell where they’d started out, so it was pointless to gauge.

Then he saw a head pop up in the distance. It was too far away to determine who it was, but he knew it was one of two people. The second head came into view as the men were reaching the top of a rock. He dropped down flat and watched until they disappeared down the other side. He got up and quickly made his way back to Katrina.

“We need to get moving.”

“What did you see?”

“Alpha and Delta. We’re only about an hour ahead of them.”

“What are we going to do if they catch up to us?” she asked, her voice clearly distressed.

“I don’t know.” He looked around.

“What are you looking for?”

“We need to even the odds a bit.” He spotted a gap between to rocks. “That’ll do.” He took off his shirt and ripped it down the side to open it up. He climbed up the first rock. Laying his shirt across the gap, he held the corners in place with rocks. He dropped down and piled up rocks on one side to hide the crevasse, sticking a couple of the rocks into the crevasse, holding them in place with the rest of the rocks.

“Here. Help me cover the shirt with dirt.”

They concealed the material so that it looked like part of the landscape. He then told her to walk up to the trap.

“Jump over to that rock and toss me your shoes.”

She looked at him sideways, but followed his instructions.

He took off one shoe and placed a print gently in the center. He took hers and spaced them to look like she walked across. He tossed her shoes back to her and put his back on. He jumped to the rock she was on and reached down for a tumbleweed nearby. Using it to clear away their footprints, he stopped when he felt they were far enough away from the trap. From there, they altered course slightly, hoping to gain precious minutes they’d used up building the trap.

“All we can do is hope this trap makes them more cautious thinking I’ve set more traps. Now, let’s make up some time.”

* * * *

“The fire is still warm,” said Delta.

“We must be gaining on them. Come, let’s pick it up. I want to get back by dark, if possible.”

“You don’t have to say that twice.” Delta smiled.

Alpha looked into the beat up shack and ducked his head when he pulled it back out. “They didn’t sleep well, here.”

“We’re not going to try and find out, either.” Delta started out again.

“They aren’t rushing,” said Alpha. “Look how close their tracks are.”

“Good. We have a chance at catching up by noon.” He picked up the pace.

An hour after leaving the shack, Alpha noticed several tracks in the dirt. They were grouped together in a localized area. “They stopped here for a few minutes.”

Delta looked around. “Which way did they go?”

“There’s some scrapes on this rock. They climbed up, here.” Alpha indicated the scratches evidently made by hard soled shoes. “Katrina isn’t wearing the best footwear for the terrain.”

Delta climbed the rock. “You’re right. They went this way.” He took one step onto the dirt covered shirt. It gave way causing him to fall into the crevasse, hitting his head on the rock on the other side. As he fell, his foot landed on the rock placed by Bravo that he’d stuck into the crevasse. It caused the whole side to cave in, landing on Delta’s leg. He let out an ear piercing scream.

Alpha climbed up quickly and looked down. “Are you okay?” He saw the blood on Delta’s forehead.

Delta groaned. “I-I think my leg is broken.”

“Are you sure?”

He tried to move it. A combination of the rocks pinning it down and his attempts to twist free caused him to yell out. After he stopped, he answered. “I’m pretty sure.”

Alpha stared down at his partner, bringing his hand to his chin, thumb on one side and two fingers on the other—deep in thought.

“Come on. Get me out of here.”

Alpha removed his pack and reached in, pulling the pistol out. “Sorry, Sam. You wouldn’t make it back, anyway.” He took aim and pulled the trigger.

Chapter Nine

Katrina stopped. “Did you hear that?”

“Yes,” said Sandy. “We need to move it. That was a gunshot.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’d be happy to be wrong, but I don’t believe I am.” He picked up the pace.

With her shoes, she struggled to keep up. “Why would they fire the gun?”

“Had to be a reason I’m sure.”

“Maybe it had something to do with the trap.”

He looked over at her. “Can’t imagine what, but if that is the case, they’re really close. We have to get—” He tripped and fell off the rock they were on.

“Sandy!” Stunned, she looked down at him.

He rolled over and stood, but when he put weight on his right foot, he fell over in excruciating pain. He sat there holding his ankle, rocking back and forth.

Katrina jumped down next to him. “Are you okay?”

“My ankle. Doesn’t this just frost it.”

“Can you move it?”

He bent his foot up and down gingerly. “I think I only sprained it.”

“Good. Let’s get going.”

“You go. I just signed my death warrant. I won’t take you down with me.”

“I’m not leaving you here.” She frowned.

“You have to go get help.”

“Are you crazy? Alpha will kill you long before I can get back.”

“If he finds me.”

“You know he will. Now either you come with me or we both stay here.”

“If you stay here, you will surely die,” Sandy pleaded.

“I told you, I’m not leaving you.”

Sandy sighed. He knew she was placing her life in more danger, but he also knew he’d already lost the argument. “Okay, help me up.”

Katrina reached out her hand. He pulled himself to his feet using her arm, which she wrapped around his back. He placed his hand on her shoulder and started to hobble.

Soon they were in a rhythm, but they were forced to work their way around boulders they would have climbed to stay on course. This cut their progress in half. Sandy knew this wasn’t going to end well. He wasn’t about to let the despair he was feeling be seen by Katrina, however.

“I hear something,” said Katrina.

They stopped for Sandy to listen. There was a soft thumping of air in the distance. “Sounds like a helicopter.” A smidgen of hope entered him. “They must be looking for us.”

* * * *

The helicopter worked its way back and forth in a southwesterly direction. Sergeant Saint James was certain this was the route they were travelling.

“There’s nothing down there to give us any clue as to where they are,” said Mike, the pilot.

“Have faith. We’ll see something soon, I’m sure.”

“I still think we should have gotten searchers on the ground.”

“They had two days head start. Even with dogs, no one can move quickly across these rocks.”

Mike looked off to the left. “Hey! There’s something down there.” He turned to check it out.

“Looks like an old shack,” said the sergeant. “Drop down a little closer. I want to get a look at it.”

Mike hovered over the spot and slowly dropped his elevation until he was about twenty feet above the beat up structure.

Sergeant Saint James smiled. “That fireplace was just used. I can see a slight smolder. We’re close. Go straight ahead, but keep low and slow.”

Mike followed directions and kept the aircraft forty feet above the rocks—high enough to look ahead, but low enough to pick out anything that might be on the ground below.

“There.”

“What?” asked Mike.

“Something between the rocks.”

“Got it.” He slowed up even more.

As they neared, the sergeant recognized what it was he saw. “Looks like a dead body.”

“Katrina?”

“No…no. It’s a man.”

“He looks partially buried.”

When they were over top, the sergeant knew what had happened. “Looks like he fell between the rocks and was put out of his misery. There’s a bullet wound in his forehead.”

“Any idea who it is?”

“Yeah, I know exactly who it is. That’s Sam Kuchner. That leaves only Mort on their trail. And we know he has a gun.”

“I’m going up,” said Mike.

“Good idea.” They climbed to an elevation that allowed them to see clearly for thirty miles or more, but they only needed two. The sergeant saw Mort duck out of sight, but the others were likely behind the rocks a little further. He felt that they were close, but there was no safe place to land. He spotted a flat area off to the left and not far from Mort. “Drop me off over there and get back up out here quickly.”

* * * *

Sandy did all he could to keep up their pace, but he knew they were covering at best three quarters the distance they should have been on the flat areas and far less than half on the inclines.

“We need to find water,” said Katrina.

“Yes,” he answered, not really meaning it. The gun shot was so close, that Alpha was going to find them in short order, even if the tracks they hid slowed him up. It wouldn’t have been for long. They’d only wiped the ground for a short distance and that had cost them time they didn’t really have to spare.

“There’s a dry creek bed ahead,” said Katrina. “Maybe we’ll get lucky if we follow it.”

Sandy looked at the ground from the rock they were standing on. At least we’ll be on level ground. “It’s as good a chance as any,” he replied.

They climbed down off the rock, and Sandy hobbled over to it with Katrina’s help. “It might only have water when the area floods from the rain, but it’s worth following.”

“Or maybe it’s the end of the line,” Alpha called from the rock they had just left.

Sandy and Katrina turned around to find a gun trained on them. They stood still, waiting for Alpha to join them at the bottom.

He climbed down keeping the pistol pointed in their direction. “Well, Bravo, you gave me quite a run for my money, what little Katrina’s father decided to give me for her safety.”

“Where’s Delta?”

“He found your trap. Very clever, by the way. But don’t worry. I didn’t let him suffer.”

“I see. That was the gunshot we heard.” He glanced over at Katrina. Turning back, he asked, “How did Charlie get caught?”

“I haven’t figured that one out. I had every detail covered. It had to have been something stupid, but not as stupid as your father.” His eyes pierced Katrina’s.

“Why is it so important to kill her?”

“Come on, Bravo—”

“Sandy,” he said as though it was a last act of defiance.

“Whatever. You should know why. Look at all the planning and execution that went into this. I can’t let her live, now. You know very well none of this would have been necessary if only he had paid. And since you chose to defy me, you get to watch her die, before I kill you.” He lifted the pistol and leveled it at Katrina’s heart.

“No!” With all his might, Sandy knocked her over just as the gun went off. He fell to the ground.

Another shot rang out and the dirt next to Alpha’s feet jumped into the air.

“Don’t move, Mort,” came a voice from the rock above. “Drop the gun.”

Mort spun around and pointed his weapon, but another shot sounded as Sergeant Saint James pulled the trigger again. The man known as Alpha, fell back, blood spurting out from where his left eye used to be.

Katrina dropped to Sandy’s side and rolled him over. He’d been shot in the left shoulder, but his head was bleeding from striking a rock when he landed.

He came to moments later, opening his eyes to see Katrina staring down at him. He smiled and then grimaced in pain when he attempted to get up.

Sergeant Saint James got down from the rock and checked Mort. He wasn’t a threat any longer. He took out his radio and called for assistance before walking over to Sandy.

Katrina looked at the sergeant, her eyes asking for reassurance.

“He’ll be okay. I have a helicopter on the way to pick us up. How are you doing?”

“I’m okay.”

“Your parents will be happy to know you’re alive.”

“They have Sandy to thank for that.”

The sergeant said nothing, but tended Sandy’s wounds while waiting for transportation to arrive.

Epilogue

Two and a half years later

“I don’t know who’s watching out for you, but I’ve never seen a kidnapper make parole in less than seven years,” said Officer Gerome, the on-duty guard at the prison.

“I’m not going to question their decision.” Sandy smiled.

“Get your things together. I’ll be back in an hour.”

I’ll be ready in ten minutes. “Thank you.” Sandy changed into the clothes the officer had dropped off—the suit he’d worn to court for his sentencing two years ago. The material, even though it was a suit and tie, felt so much softer against his body than the prison uniform.

“Oooh we! Look at you all fancied up,” said his cellmate.

“I’d rather be wearing jeans and a t-shirt.”

“You’ll be in them soon enough.”

“Count on it.” He opened the top drawer of the small dresser that was his for the last two years. He pulled out a stack of letters he’d held onto since they started arriving shortly after he did. He kept each one in its original envelope.

“Man, I can’t believe that girl wrote you the whole time you were here.”

“Me either.”

“Makes me wanna go out and kidnap myself some hot little thing.” They laughed.

Sandy opened the first letter. He smiled softly as he read it. He stuffed it back in the envelope and removed the degree certificate. “If it wasn’t for her encouragement, I’m not sure I could have stuck it out and gotten my degree.”

“Hope you find use for it. I mean…a business degree with a record? Ain’t too agreeable.”

“I just have to stand tall and sell myself. I’ll make it. I have to. I’m never coming back here ever again.”

“Ya know? I bet you will at that.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He folded the certificate and replaced it in its envelope.

“So, ya gonna look her up?”

He raised his eyes when he looked over at his cellmate. “Are you kidding? She’s in a different world than I’m in. The best I can do is strive to be like her… I would like to thank her, though. My letters couldn’t convey the way I really feel.”

He set the envelope on top of the other letters he’d placed on the dresser. He then searched his drawers removing the toiletries but not much else. “Guess I’ll be travelling light.”

In spite of the time he spent behind bars, the last hour was the longest. When he heard the officer call for his cell to be opened, a sigh of relief swept over him. He stood along with his cellmate.

“Take care of yourself, man. Don’t you come back.”

Sandy smiled. “It won’t be long for you, now.” He grabbed the man’s hand, and the man pulled him in, slapping him on the back. He returned the favor. Then he picked up the cloth bag with his meager possessions and passed through the bars.

After being given instructions about what he was required to do after leaving, he was sent on his way. When he reached the front gate, he shook the officer’s hand.

“Good luck, Sandy.”

“Thank you.” The gate opened and he walked out heading toward the main road.

“I see you’re still clean shaven,” said a familiar voice leaning up against a car to his left.

Sandy’s eyes grew double in size. “Katrina?”

“I realize it’s been two years, but you didn’t forget what I looked like, did you?” She grinned as she pushed herself off of the car.

Sandy laughed. “I had your face embossed in my head. I just didn’t expect you to be here, that’s all.”

“I heard you were getting out, today.”

He walked over and stood in front of her. “I can’t believe you wrote me the whole time I was in. You made it all bearable. I can almost say it was you that forced me to get my degree.”

“It was all on you, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, well…I remember how pointless it was to argue with you. Now, I just need to put it to use.”

“You have a job.” She smiled wryly.

“What?” He looked at her completely shocked.

“You report to my father next Monday. He’ll go over the details, then.”

Sandy was totally dumbfounded. He searched for words that never came out.

“Why do you think I pushed you to get your business degree?”

“I-I don’t know. I thought you only wanted me to make something of myself.”

“I do.”

“But your father—”

“Is the one who suggested it.”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say he wanted to do his part in your rehabilitation…with a slightly less than subtle hint to steer him in that direction.”

Sandy smiled, shaking his head. “I can certainly understand how those people in the mission must feel about you. You’re something close to miraculous, but at a minimum, amazing for sure. And I am so sorry for what I had put you through.”

“You said that more than enough in your letters. It’s time to move forward,” she said forcefully.

Sandy sighed, his eyes watering. “Fair enough.”

“Shall we go?” Her eyebrows rose in question.

“What are you doing, here? You’re a woman who has everything.”

“I don’t have everything. There’s one thing missing.”

Sandy smiled and moved in close to her. “And that would be?”

She stared him in the eye. “You.”

He grabbed her and placed his lips against hers to end the story—or is it just the chapter?